Related to another thread in this forum, about skill levels, I think mfgs need to improve instruction sheets. Experienced modelers know when to follow procedure given, when to deviate. But I know newcomers to the hobby tend to be bothered by the fact that the instructions in kits often cannot be followed literally. There are a few exceptions (Wingnut kits, Midwest ship models, for instance) but many popular mfgs need to work harder.
Biggest problem involves painting. I am convinced that although they give you colors for parts, they believe that few actually paint their models. Painting each part seperately before any assembly of course prevents filling and smoothing seams. Waiting till the kit is assembled before painting prevents painting interior parts that remain visible. These seeming dilemmas really throw some novices.
Another problem is that many manufacturers, especially from Asia, seem to resist having speakers native to some countries that they market heavily to actually write or edit the English versions of their instructions. Yeah, we all laugh at the pigeon english, but it still is not good customer relations. How much would it add to kit cost to have well translated instructions.